DfID, UNDP: How senior management can foster a culture of innovation among staff

The pressure to deliver often leaves little room to innovate, so it’s up to senior management to allow its staff the time to question the status quo. The recently concluded United Nations Development Program Asia-Pacific Regional Innovation Summit in Bangkok has brought attention to innovative thinking and how it helps organizations address development challenges. Though it’s not possible for institutions such as the U.K. Department for International Development or the UNDP to offer monetary incentives to its staff to encourage innovation, recognition and acknowledging both success and failure are key, explained Benjamin Kumpf, an innovation specialist at the UNDP headquarters in New York. UNDP now has “a good number of senior managers” who support their staff in questioning bureaucratic rules — which still often stand in the way of innovation — as well as challenge the historically hierarchical mindset of organization. DfID is also working to encourage its staff to innovate, according to Jonathan Wong. The head of the Innovation Hub at DfID said his team is working to reverse the general fear that staff may have to “stick their head above the parapet to tell people their ideas.” Check out more career advice stories online, and subscribe to Doing Good to receive top international development career and recruitment news.